The Côte d’Azur, also known as the ‘French Riviera’, is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France, also including the state of Monaco. It’s a spectacular setting, with azure waters, yachts, hilltop towns, beaches, and the mountains Alpes-Maritimes in the background. The area is a popular tourist destination, on account of its beauty, beaches, and great weather. Our running guide for the Côte d’Azur features several spectacular routes along the water, in the area stretching from Saint-Tropez east to Monaco, with Nice as the area’s ‘center’. West of Saint-Tropez, see our running guides for Provence and Marseille.
Some of the running highlights in the Côte d’Azur are the Promenade des Anglais in Nice, a ‘runseeing’ tour of Monaco/Monte-Carlo, and a tour of St.-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. There’s a series of peninsulas, each if which has its own vibe, and great for running: Antibes, Cap de Nice (Coco Beach), Cap Ferrat, and Cap d’Ail. Our routes in these areas areas are a combination of road, seaside promenade, and in sections, ‘coastal trail’, known as the ‘sentier littoral’. There are many beaches in the Côte, but they are crowded in season, and the sand quality is generally not suitable for running. Also note that some of the roads in the area are very narrow, with no shoulder or sidewalk. We’ve paid careful attention to that in designing our routes.
One final aspect is that transportation is terrific in this area. It can be really fun to run one way and hop on a train or bus back.
The climate is one of the main attractions of the Côte d’Azur. Sun is the rule. Summers are dry and hot, with high temperatures well into the 80s (27-30C), and warm nights. Winters are mild and great for running, with January high temps in the 50s (10-12C), and nights rarely dip below freezing. There is some rain in winter, but very little in summer–typical of a Mediterranean climate.